A travel-savvy age grouper consults five friends for advice on racing on the other side of the world next year.

by Jordan Blanco

My husband and I have perfected race-cations. We travel to new destinations, race an IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3, then take a few days after the race to explore the region or even road-trip around the entire country. Using this approach, we've tackled everything from Canada to the Caribbean and Austria to Australia.

Looking ahead to 2017, IRONMAN 70.3 Chongqing in China caught my eye as a new, exciting place to test our speed and flex our travel muscles. Located on the Yangtze River, the city of Chonqing is upstream of the controversial Three Gorges Dam, and offers tons in the way of natural beauty to explore. (And of course, the slots for Kona and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship up for grabs didn't escape my attention!)

With entry fees paid and flights booked, it dawned on me that it would be our first race-cation in Asia and the first country where I wouldn't be able to speak a word of the native tongue. That realization triggered a whole host of questions, so I reached out to a few friends who raced in China recently for insider tips. (Stay tuned for updated travel information on each of the respective event pages.)

Smooth travel: Betty Janelle is an age-group athlete from Atlanta, Georgia who raced the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Hefei in October and had a smooth travel experience. The travel package arranged through IRONMAN included an airport pick-up by local Chinese students who spoke English to transfer athletes to their hotel.

A luxurious stay: Janelle was delighted by the local accommodations, and impressed by the five-star luxury of the newly opened Wanda hotel in Hefei. She had packed food for the trip, expecting the worst. "After eating the delicious breakfast buffet, we opted for the dinner buffets every night," Janelle said. What was on a typical menu? "Meat grilled to order, fish, noodle bowls, salads, fresh fruit, Chinese offerings, breads, desserts, gelato…the list goes on!"

Amenities galore: Professional triathlete Sarah Piampiano recently raced IRONMAN 70.3 Xiamen and placed second. She was equally impressed by the ease of travel and resources at the host hotel, which she says had a 25-meter pool and a great gym—perfect for her pre-race workouts.

Satisfying swim courses: Friends reported back that the swim course layout and organization at both races was top-notch, and that the water quality at IRONMAN 70.3 Hefei was particularly high. (The lake had been refilled specifically for the race just two weeks prior.) At IRONMAN 70.3 Xiamen, the number of sighting buoys and safety boats on course to assist athletes impressed British professional triathlete, Tim Don.

Surreal biking: Shannon Proffit traveled from Australia to race Hefei and described her experience on the bike course as surreal: "We were riding a multi-lane highway that had been closed entirely and barricaded off from traffic," she reported. Not only did she feel safe (thanks to military guards stationed every 30 meters along the side of the road), Proffit also appreciated the quality of the roads, which she called "spotless."

Run routes to rival the best: "The roads are in impeccable condition with two or three lanes at all times," Piampiano said of the Xiamen course. With a large number of Chinese athletes competing in their first ever IRONMAN 70.3 race, Piampiano had been concerned going in about navigating traffic. "There was more than enough room, which made for an extremely fair race," she reports.

Superb spectators: The road conditions continued over the run course, and Janelle said aid station and spectator support were both ample. "Some supporters cheered in Mandarin while others just yelled 'hello' and if you said 'thanks' back, the cheers just grew louder," explains Proffit. "There was so much interest and excitement from the local people."

Stocked aid stations: Everyone I spoke to reported that most importantly, the aid stations were well run—and well stocked with ice and sponges—especially for the hot and humid conditions.

Language learnings: Racing in another country rarely goes without complications—in China, the language barrier is one of these. "There were a few times where we had to act out a scenario to make ourselves understood," says Proffit. Piampiano agrees, adding that the language barrier was never an inconvenience—though she does recommend making sure you have the hotel address written out in Chinese whenever you venture out of the hotel.

Can you say hospitality? Jeannie Seymour from South Africa was the overall female champion at IRONMAN 70.3 Xiamen, and was overwhelmed by the Chinese hospitality which she called "truly spectacular." "I was made to feel very special," she added. Don loved the buzz surrounding the race with excitement brought about by the amateur athletes racing for IRONMAN World Championship slots. Piampiano also fed off the energy from fellow athletes with a "contagious mix of pure joy and excitement from many first-time athletes," that boosted her own enthusiasm for racing.

Ready to plan your own Chinese race-cation? Start here:

IRONMAN 70.3 Liuzhou: April 1, 2017—30 qualifying slots for the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship and 50 qualifying slots for the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.

IRONMAN 70.3 Qujing: August 27, 2017—30 qualifying slots for the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship and 50 qualifying slots for the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.

IRONMAN 70.3 Chongquing: September 24, 2017—30 qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship and 50 qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.

IRONMAN 70.3 Hefei: October 22, 2017—30 qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship and 50 qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.